What is karma?

Karma is one of the ways in which you can get a feel for the work
that someone has done recently in Launchpad.

Almost everything you do in Launchpad helps you to build karma. For
example: registering bugs, translating strings and answering support
requests. Different types of work earn different levels of karma.
Also, the amount of karma a particular action gives you fades over
time.

Karma is only attributed for work done in Launchpad and does not
apply to items imported from other sources.